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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bulb — for light
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — soda
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. staff — employees
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. land — a country
  17. pop — to visit
  18. field — farmland
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — ground
  22. field — a subject
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com